


Late Apologies

by MsChievous



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Bordering more on the "hurt" side than the "comfort" side, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lil' bit of implied sad Noctis in there, Poor Prompto, but offscreen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 11:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11462328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsChievous/pseuds/MsChievous
Summary: Written for theKinkmeme:OP an earlier similar prompt making this one in reference to another anons comment.Promptos parents (who love him and work shit hours to support him) are in the crowd around the citadel during the attack, there to support what they know Prompto is working for. During the attack they get cornered/trapped and know they will die. They call Prompto to say goodbye and apologize for not being ther, telling him how much they love him. On the other line, the bros watch and listen in horror when Prompto screams as the line goes dead.While waiting for Dino to get them a boat to Altissia, Prompto gets a phone call from his parents. But when he picks it up, he hears something he hoped never to hear in his life.





	Late Apologies

**Author's Note:**

> Low-key sorry, low-key not. I know I'm supposed to be uploading that torture fic I'm working on (I swear I'm working on it), but it's a lot of work and classes are back in session (yay me), so have this page and a half full of just pure angst.

Prompto’s talking with Gladio on the bayside patio of the Quayside Cradle when the phone rings. He jumps and pats his pants pocket, looking for his phone.

Gladio leans back with a smirk as Prompto starts to pull out his phone. “You got a girlfriend we don’t know about?” He asks. From the other room, Noctis yells out, “Cindy would be so  _ jealous _ if Prompto had a girlfriend, Gladio! Oh wait, maybe it  _ is _ Cindy!”

But before Noctis can cross the distance between them and give his friend a playful noogie, Prompto’s answered the phone, turned away and walked a few steps towards the railing. 

“Hey, mom. What’s up?” He smiles warmly, about to continue when he notices his mother sounds breathless on the other end of line and worry starts to set in. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Prompto, listen,” his mother snaps at him. In his whole memory, his mother never snapped at him out of the blue like this. It’s wrong enough to make him stop short, lungs working to supply enough oxygen to his muscles for him to just remain upright. He’s somewhere between concerned that something’s wrong and humiliation that  _ he _ is the something that’s wrong

“The signing, the empire- it… it’s- gah, nevermind, it’s not important.” His mom’s voice is low, terse. He almost doesn’t recognize it. “What  _ is _ important, Prompto sweetheart, is that you know your father and I love you very much. We always have, always will,”

“Mom?” Prompto’s voice is small, scared. He doesn’t like where this is going.

“We’re so  _ sorry _ we couldn’t have been around more-”

“Mom, please,” his voice breaks, “what’s going on? Are you okay?”

“You deserved better parents, a better  _ life _ , you-” his mother’s words end in a choked sob. There’s a soft voice on the other end of the line, to low to make out, then his father’s voice replaces his mom’s.

“Hey, kiddo…” His dad’s voice is strained, but he tries to force out enthusiasm, like he always did when Prompto would talk for hours about his photography on the off chance their phone calls connected. 

“Dad, please,  _ please! _ What is going on? What’s this about the Empire, and the signing? Why is mom crying?”

“Son, we love you, okay? Remember that, no matter what, we-”

There’s a loud popping noise that makes him jump, way too familiar. A Rapidus SMG, Standard issue for all Imperial Riflemen. Then there’s a gurgled shout, two, and a familiar  _ thunk thunk thunk thunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunk _ of bullets into flesh.

Prompto’s phone clatters out of his hand and he works to keep from throwing up. His breath is coming fast, too fast, he can’t control his breathing, he-

“Prompto!” Ignis’s face is in front of his, calm, but with a concerned spark in his eyes, “Prompto, you need to  _ breathe _ .” But Ignis’s words are fading out, replaced by a distant ringing sound. His limbs are heavy, too heavy, and his brain feel like it’s been replaced by cotton balls, and everything is ringing and sliding and twisting around and oh gods he can’t breathe. His limbs tingle as he feels his entire weight sag against strong arms. There’s a garbled sound like someone talking, but he can’t hear it over the ringing in his ears, and eventually, everything fades to black.

 

* * *

 

It takes him a few seconds to come back around fully. Shapes and colors seem to slide back into focus, and it takes him a few seconds more to realize he’s not outside anymore, he can’t smell the salt of the sea breeze. No, he’s inside… their room?

He blinks slowly, trying to piece together what  the hell just happened, when he remembers. His parents sobbing, apologizing,  _ dying _ , and all of a sudden, he can’t breathe again. His hands fly up of their own accord to scratch at his face, tug at his hair,  _ something _ to get his breathing normal again, but nothing will ever be normal again, he just listened to his own parents’ deaths.

“Prompto, please, I need to to take deep breaths.” Ignis is back, holding one of Prompto’s trembling hands in his steady one. 

Prompto tries to open his mouth to speak, to say, ‘Oh, yeah, I can do that, take a breath, but my parents can’t, not anymore,’ but Gladio’s taken the blond’s other hand and laid it on his chest, right against his beautiful tattoo.

“Feel this, match my breathing, okay? You’ll be okay.” Gladio’s voice is gentle, his smile is gentle, and when he brushes Prompto’s hair out of his face, his touch, too, is gentle. He finds his breath is slowing, matching Gladio: in, pause, out. In, pause, out. 

When he stops hyperventilating, he starts crying, tears leaking in fat droplets down his temples and into the pillow beneath him. He tries to cover his mouth with his hands to stifle the tears- his parents wouldn’t want him to be sad, they  _ loved  _ him- but he can’t stop the tears.

He stiffens slightly when Gladio pulls him into a hug, loose and comforting, but once the initial wave of dizziness passes, he clings to Gladio as if his life depended on it. He tries to speak, vocalize what exactly happened, but he can’t make the words come out. Distantly, he hears Ignis saying something about checking on Noct, but he just curls up tighter into Gladio’s lap and sobs.


End file.
